A Gem in the Sunlight
by silvergolddragon
Summary: Co-author wanted, please pm if you want to help me write this story. Aladdin take with MLP Characters and their gender opposites


The full moon shined bright over the Everfree Forest. Deep in the forbidding wilderness, a clearing started to form, revealing an unnatural path that was built by creatures of intelligence. And at the end of this path laid the oddly formed opening to a cave. The entrance of this cave was carved out of stone to look like that of a giant bear head with its jaws wide open. And resting on the forehead of this carving was the image of an eight-pointed golden star. The cave was designed specifically to resemble that of an Ursa Major.

Out of the midnight sky descended a dark object. A black chariot, with spiked blood red wheels, and one sole occupant in a black robe at the reins. The vehicle was pulled by a single crimson red dragon, that was no bigger than a teenager of his kind. As the chariot landed on the stone path, it came to a screeching halt that could only be compared to metal against a chalkboard. The cloaked figure stepped off the chariot and pulled the hood off his head to reveal his face to the starlit sky. He was a unicorn stallion with a smoke gray coat and jet black mane and tail. He had glaring red eyes. And a set of red crystal quartz for a cutie mark.

"Here's your stop, Sombra!" a red dragon announced breaking the silence of the night

"Good work Garble. But make it a smoother landing next time!" Sombra scowled at the red dragon now names Garble..

"Whatever, geezer."

Sombra looked down the path and stared directly into the cave. Finally, after all these years, the object hidden within would be his to claim.

"Hey Sombra, remind why we came to 'this hole in a rock' again." only for the ignorant dragon with rocks on the brain to break the unicorn from his thoughts.

"Because this is where the Goldstar Amulet is kept. After 30 years of searching, it is finally within my grasp." an exasperated Sombra said for the nth time this night to the rock brained dragon.

The unicorn proceeded to walk forward towards the cave. He was a short distance away from the entrance when something stopped him. A bright purple aura started to glow from the carving's eyes. It expanded into a dome around the cave with white stars on it, that when connected, formed the Ursa constellation. When completely formed, I looked like a sphere display of the starry sky.

The ground started to shake beneath Sombra's hooves. He turned his gaze to the nearby line of trees. Making its way through the forest, was a large, lumbering, dark figure. When it was close by, the shaking stopped. The creature stood up on its hind legs and broke the top of the tree line. In the moonlight, it was revealed to be a full-grown Ursa Major. The star on its forehead glowed sapphire-blue as it towered over Sombra and Garble.

The creature spoke, "Who dares defile these sacred grounds?."

Sombra looked up and responded, "I am Sombra, Unicorn Sorcerer!."

"What do you seek here?" asked the Ursa.

Sombra answered one again, "I seek the amulet that lies within."

The starry creature growled at the intruder then declared "This place is protected by magic against the unworthy. The only one who is worthy may enter, 'The Gem in the Sunlight'."

With that, the dome around the cave vanished and the Ursa retreated back into the forest. Sombra turned around and started back towards his chariot. He contemplated what he had just learned. Yet another obstacle stood between him and his destiny. Obviously, He was not the worthy one.

Sombra stopped at his chariot and Garble spoke up. "What now old-timer?."

Sombra gave the teenage dragon a glare. "A minor setback. I will not let one pony deny me what is rightfully mine."

The sorcerer pulled the hood of his robe back over his head and boarded the chariot. With a slap of the reins, Garble took off into the night sky. It looked liked Sombra had a new challenge to face.

"For now, I must find this 'Gem in the Sunlight'."

Dawn broke over the capital city of Canterlot. It wasn't the largest city in Equestria, but it was the wealthiest. Not only was it a center of commerce, but also fine art. Some of the greatest artists were found there. Much of the economy and industries of Equestria were run from this city as well. And it was also home to Equestria's elite, including most of the nobles and large business owners. But most importantly, it was home to the Royal Family. King Galaxus and his 2 sons. The elder, Solaris, Prince of the Day and the younger, Artemis, Prince of the Night.

But on this particular morning, there was a commotion in the merchant's marketplace. The Royal Guards were in pursuit of somepony. Led by commander Silver Sword, they chased a suspected thief. Eventually, in the upper class part of the market, they cornered and surrounded the pony. It was a white coated mare with a pink mane and tail. She was just slightly taller than an average sized adult mare. She wore a ragged looking brown robe with a hood over her head and a horn visible, making her appear to be a unicorn. And on her back was pair of saddlebags that looked to be filled with apples.

"We have you surrounded thief! Give up!" shouted the grey pegasus commander.

From a distance, a crowd gathered and looked as the guards moved in on their target. A unicorn couple from the elite class noticed the commotion. One was a gray stallion with a well styled black mane and tail, wear a pair of spectacles. The other was tan mare sporting a teal and white mane and tail, wearing pink pearl earrings. By name, they were Jet Set and Upper Crust, a pair of very successful business owners. And they didn't like who they saw.

"Dear, who is that ruffian over there?" asked Jet Set to his wife.

Upper Crust replied "Haven't you heard, honey? She's that thieving peasant, Celestia. She steals whatever she wants, whenever she wants and doesn't care who she disturbs. The guards have been after her for years. She's nothing more than a "street nag."

"Well, in that case, I do hope they catch her this time" said the elite stallion.

By this time, the guards had almost every escape route for the peasant mare cutoff. And they were just about to make the arrest.

"We have you this time, street nag" said one of the guards.

At that moment, something swooped out of the sky. A yellow and fire-red bird hovered over the circle of guards. It let out a bright golden flash of light. The guards were blinded and Celestia took the chance slip through them and get away.

"HA HA! Great work Philomena. They'll never outsmart a phoenix"while running down the street.

She ran down a flight of stairs to one of the lower levels of the city. There, she went onto another street full of ponies, all rushing to begin their day. Celestia bobbed and weaved through the crowd as Philomena followed her from overhead. The guards were already hot on their trail again and they had to keep moving. As celestia neared the end of the street, she lit her horn in golden aura and cast a spell. The guards a rag robed pony run out of the crowd and down into an alleyway. They ran after the figure thinking it to be their target. But as they caught up with it, it vanished. It was just an illusion.

At that same time, Celestia broke from the sea of ponies and onto a walkway leading to the middle class part of Canterlot. As he made down a row of houses, another group of guards spotted her from behind.

"You! Halt!" one of them shouted.

They immediately started to pursue her at top speed. Celestia ran straight down the street, dodging everypony in the way. It eventually turned a town square with a fountain in the middle. Ponies would gather here to enjoy themselves and conduct other activities. Looking around, Celestia saw the perfect place to hide. When the guards got the square, they saw no sign of their target. They saw only the normal foals playing and ponies talking. The only notable thing was a large, bulky white Pegasus with tiny wings flexing his muscles. Just an ordinary showoff. So the guards moved on.

As soon as the guards left, Celestia stepped out from behind the muscular stallion. She had been moving her body in tune with his to hide. She ran out of the square and toward the outer limits of the city. As she came on to one on the main roads, Silver Sword and his guards caught sight of her again. Once again, they started to run after her. Celestia galloped down the road and turned a corner leading straight back into market place again. She went into a large shop and ran up the stairs to the top floor. The guards followed her to the top where they had her cornered at a window.

"No more tricks! Your under arrest." said Silver Sword.

"Then come and get me." replied Celestia.

The guards all rushed at her at once. At that moment, Celestia jumped out the window. She seemed to float in midair, but her horn wasn't lit, so no magic. While the guards all tumbled out the window. they fell four stories before landing in a wagon full of what looked like dirt. But the sign on the side said "FRESH MANURE ."

Celestia continued to float in midair for a few moments, admiring the humorous position she had put the guards in. Then she drifted off over the streets. She floated over a half dozen blocks before seeing where she desired to land. Celestia started to descend toward ground. As she did, the wind caught her robe, and exposed what appeared to be a pair of white wings. She touched down on the ground and folded her wings back under her robe. Celestia was no ordinary unicorn, she was an alicorn.

"Finally, we lost them! That was great work Philomena. But you did cut it a little close." Celestia said to her phoenix friend.

Philomena landed on her back and replied "Sorry. But you try blending in with other birds when your flame colored. Besides, I got there in time, didn't I."

Celestia had a special sense for understanding what animals were saying. And that included Philomena. They both never thought much of it. But they were happy to be able to converse with each other intelligently.

Celestia sighed and said "True. Thank you, Philomena. At least that chase worked up our appetites."

"Yeah! Did you see the look on there faces when they landed in that manure?" said the phoenix.

Celestia lit the golden aura of her horn and levitated a couple of apples out her saddlebag. "And now, breakfast is served!" s. She levitated one of the apples to Philomena, who grasped it in her talons and started to eat it.

Celestia bit into her own apple, swallowing in large chunks. The sweet taste of apple juice after every bite. Soon, both her and Philomena had eaten their first course right down to the core. Celestia levitated two more apples out her bag. She was about to give another to her feathered friend when something caught her attention. From around the corner of a building, she could see what looked like a child. She turned around to see a small grey pegasus filly with a blonde mane and tail. Then from around the corner came a pegasus mare of the same colors. Both ponies looked very thin and starved. It was safe to assume that they to were among those under poverty in canertlot's peasantry.

Celestia turned to face the mother and daughter pair. She smiled and said "Hello, who are you?."

The mother put her hoof around her daughter and answered "I'm Derpy! And this is my daughter, Ditsy."

Celestia knew what it was like to go without food, so se decided it would nice to help. She levitated half of the total amount of apples from her bags over to them. She smiled and said "Are you two hungry? I can spare some food if you'd like."

"Would you really do that?" asked Derpy.

"Of course, it's no problem" Answered Celestia.

"Thank you, miss" said Derpy.

And with that, Derpy and Ditsy started to flap their wings and float in mid air. They picked the apples up in their front legs and then flew off toward whatever part of town they called home. Celestia knew she had probably just given them the most food they'd had in sometime. Even if she had to give up a few of her own meals, she was glad she could help. But this good feeling was interrupted by Philomena angrily pecking at Celestia's head.

"Ow! What's that for" Celestia said while rubbing the sore spot with her hoof.

Philomena leered at Celestia and said " You just gave up half of our entire load. Why?."

Celestia answered "I don't need a reason to be kind to others."

Celestia levitated two more apples out of her other bag and gave one to Philomena. She started to walk down along the street while eating and thinking to herself. As she walked, a metallic object around her neck swung back and forth while gleaming in the sunlight. It was a necklace that looked like a sun in a half circle. It was a very special object to Celestia, as it was the thing she had to remember her mother by.

"Hey Celestia! Do you think we're going to have to keep living like this forever?" asked Philomena.

Celestia answered "No, Philomena. Someday, we're going to make an honest living. We'll live big house that's all ours, we'll wear fancy clothes, and eat food we actually bought. ...And who knows...Maybe I'll even find love." The thought of romance made her blush.

"All that would be nice, wouldn't it" said Philomena.

As the two of them were coming to the end of the street, they saw a large crowd gathering. They were all standing around the main road leading to the palace, so it must've been important.

"I wonder what's going on!" said Celestia.

"Well lets go find out!" answered Philomena.

Celestia ran toward the crowd. It was filled with an assortment of ponies from all walks of life, so it would easy for somepony to hide among the populace. She assimilated herself into the crowd and began to make her way through it. At the same time Philomena hovered over everypony to front. As Celestia came to the front of the gathering Philomena landed on her back. Both looked down the street and saw the source of the commotion. A precession of royal guards was making its way towards the palace. And in the middle of the parade was a green and gold carriage being pulled by earth pony stallions in tuxedoes.

The carriage obviously meant it was one of canterlot's elite. But, which one was it and why were they going to the palace? Celestia wondered what all the fuss was about. Among all the chattering ponies in the crowd, Celestia listened in on a group of gossiping mares.

"Another suitor for prince, uh?" said one mare.

"This has got to be the seventh or eighth one!" said another.

"Just when is he going to pick a bride, anyway?" said the last.

Celestia had heard that the prince, Solaris, had come of age recently and his father expected him to choose a bride. The streets of canterlot were abuzz with gossip about it. But she had also heard that the Prince had turned down all the noble mares presented to his thus far. Many ponies were wondering why a bride hadn't been chosen yet. It was obvious this was suitor attempting to present herself.

The precession was moving along smoothly, unit something happened. A small Pegasus filly fell out of the sky. It was Ditsy Doo, and she landed right in front of the carriage. Both of the earth ponies pulling it reared up in surprise. At that moment, Derpy landed next to her daughter.

One of the earth ponies yelled "You little brat!."

Derpy replied "I'm sorry! She was just trying to get a better view when she fell!."

"Well, your going to be!" said the earth ponies as he raised his hoof.

The angry earth pony was about to lower his fist onto the mother and daughter. Celestia instantly reacted. Her horn lit up as she cast a spell. A force field appeared around Derpy and Ditsy Doo. The earth pony hit the bubble and was sent back by the shock wave. Both ponies and the carriage were shaken by the blow. The force field dropped and the two pegusi flew away at top speed. The guards turned their attention toward the commotion. Moments later, the door of carriage the opened and it's sole rider stepped out. It was a aqua-blue pegasus mare with a golden-orange mane and tail, and she was wearing a orange rime-stone saddle dress. She looked out over the crowd with a glaring look in her eyes.

"What is the cause of this hold up?!" she yells.

Celestia stepped out of the sea of ponies. She looked at the noble mare and said "You and your escort have no right to others like that! Just who do you think you are, anyway?."

The noble mare replied "I am duchess Lightning Dust! And how dare you speak to me like that peasant!."

"A Duchess, uh? Well I'm sure a pony as rich as you could afford some manners!" said Celestia.

"WHY YOU, 'STREET NAG'!" yelled Lightning Dust.

At that moment, Lightning Dust spread out her wings. In one large flap, she made a gust of wind to knock Celestia and Philomena back into a puddle on the side of the street. Both the mare and her bird were soaked. They stood up out of puddle, dripping wet, and stared angrily at Lightning Dust.

A moment later, Celestia's angry expression turned into a smirk. "Look at that Philomena! It isn't everyday you see a pony with a butt on both ends!" s.

Lightning Dust winced at the insult and scowled. She looked Celestia and said "Make all the insults you wish peasant. They are meaningless to a pony of my station. And you, will always be nothing than a 'street nag'."

With that, the Duchess got back into her carriage. The guards and carriage began to move and the precessions was on it's way again. Celestia watched until the parade had made it's way through the palace gates. When it was through, the drawbridge went up and the gates closed. With the noble no longer in sight the crowd started to disperse. Celestia shook herself off to lessen the dampness of her robe. Philomena jumped onto her friends back and started to let off heat to dry themselves off. Soon enough, the pair was dry enough to walk without dripping. Celestia once again started walking on her way. She walk away from the palace and after awhile was in one of lower class areas of the city.

As they walked, Philomena rode on Celestia's back and could tell something was bothering her. Trying to start up a conversation, the phoenix pecked the pony on the back of her head. Celestia reacted in pain and became aware of her friend's desire for attention.

"What is it Philomena?" Celestia asked gently.

"You did a good thing helping those pegasi out. But next time, be more careful! You know I hate getting wet." answered Philomena.

Celestia replied "Thank you. And I'm sorry we got all wet. I didn't expect that bad a reaction."

The phoenix inquired "Why did you let her insult you like that? Your no 'street nag'."

Celestia answered "What's important is that I did the right thing. It doesn't matter what they say about me."

Philomena said "I'll bet nopony would treat you like that if they knew you were an alicorn and I was a phoenix."

Celestia stopped in her tracks and said "Philomena! You know why we keep that a secret. If everypony knew a peasant like me was an alicorn, there would be an uproar. The same if they knew I had a phoenix for a pet. Everypony would treat us than they already do."

Celestia continued walking again. Soon they came to an abandoned house that seemed to fit in with all the other rundown buildings. For Celestia and Philomena, this was home. The two entered the house to prepare for a good night's sleep.

"Don't worry Philomena, our lives will get better."


End file.
